Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply Review

A Closer Look
The b-Tarantula is covered with a matte black powdercoat. It is just slightly larger than the 135mm fan, which makes it about the size of the average 750-850 watt PSU. The fan has lots of curved blades, which should make for some good airflow. I personally like the logo on the fan grill.

Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply

The PSU is well vented, with slots on the side, and nice open honeycomb on the rear.

Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply

Inside, we find a huge heatsink array that covers most of the inside of the power supply. Though it isn’t particularly heavy as some heatsinks are, I have never seen such an extensive heatsink setup on a power supply. I find it quite impressive.

Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply

The b-Tarantula 650 has a pair of +12v rails pushing 20A each. The spec label is on the side of the PSU that is visible when the PSU is installed in a traditional configuration.

Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply

Though the b-Tarantula is considered “modular” the configuration isn’t what most people consider modular. Rather than a series of connectors mounted on the forward side of the PSU’s case, the connectors exit the case on short sleeved cables. bgears calls this “SmartFlex Cable Management”. Personally, I like that concept, I feel that it is a simple, much less involved solution for modular power supplies, but I’m sure that there are some that will not like it, for whatever reason. The 20+4 and ATX12v cables are permanently attached. Of note, the ATX12v cable has a pair of 4-pin connectors rather than one 4-pin and one 8-pin. I prefer this, as that hanging 4-pin connector is irritating to me.

Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply

The cables are covered in black mesh and finished in heavy black heatshrink, excepting the PCI-E cable which has red mesh and heatshrink. The cables are all long enough for use in a full tower, with enough extra length to possibly accommodate some cable management. Cables are:

2 x 4-pin Molex, with 3 Molex connectors and a floppy on each
2 x SATA power, with 3 SATA power connectors on each
1 x PCI-E power, with a 6-pin and a 6+2-pin

Of note is the 6+2-pin PCI-E connector. Rather than the typical 2-pin connector being on a short wire that is very visible if not used, the 2-pin connector is on a long pair of wires that allow the connector to be hidden if not used.

Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply

Not much of a bundle here, just the cord and some screws. Actually, the 20+4 cable is packed with a black ladder-type zip tie that I did use during installation.

Bgears b-Tarantula 650 Watt Power Supply